Gemshorn

Instrument

Gemshorn being playedclick image for gemshorn sound (162kb wav) or here for same in mp3 format
entire song Como hua moller in mp3 format

The gemshorn is the only medieval flute with a sharply tapering conical bore. Its shape is determined naturally since it is made from the horn of a chamois or ox. The tone has a sweet color somewhere between a soft recorder and an ocarina. Its haunting delicate sound is even more impressive when one considers the ordinary material from which it is constructed. Shepherds probably used its gentle tones to calm animals. 

The first clear illustration of the gemshorn is found in Virdung'sMusica Getutscht (1511). By mid sixteenth century the instrument had fallen out of use. It has survived in the organ stop of the same name. The stop contains a strong fifth-sounding partial.

gemshorngemshornclick image to the right for short wav of gemshorn trio 
or here for the complete trio in mp3 format

Musica Antiqua's gemshorns include an alto in E-flat, a tenor in B-flat, and a bass in E-flat by Finke and a tenor in B-flat by Meinl and Lauber.

 

 

 

Additional Resources:

  • C. Sachs: 'Das Gemshorn', ZMw, i (1918-19), 153
  • H. Fitzpatrick: 'The Gemshorn: a Reconstruction', PRMA, xcix (1972-3), 1

three gemshorns